** Co-presented with Department of Scandinavian Studies Finnish Studies Program at UW and Nordic Museum **

The first truly Finnish adaptation of Johannes Linnankoski’s eponymous novel can be found in Teuvo Tulio’s The Song of the Scarlet Flower, which, unlike its sound predecessors, is spoken in Finnish. The film was seen as a historical event and the Finnish critics could not get enough of the powerful river landscapes that characterize the film. The film was deemed “wordless and violent,” and “carried forward by the genuine Finnish temperament.” Kaarlo Oksanen became an icon of Finnish cinema for his role as the womanizing anti-hero, Olavi Koskela, especially since Oksanen’s career was cut short when he became a casualty of the Second World War. Teuvo Tulio developed a distinctively excessive melodramatic style that was influenced by German Expressionism and makes for beautifully decorative landscapes and highly intense acting performances.

* Through August, NWFF members may receive one extra admission (BOGOOO!) to the Nordic Museum with their ticket purchase. Does not include entry to the Studio 54 exhibition. *